Morning Repost: Exodus 33: The Threat of God’s Withdrawal And the Humiliation of the People
"God had already granted Moses' prayer for the nation of Israel to be spared, but the final issue of whether or not the broken covenant would be renewed was at this point unresolved, and also, if to be renewed, under what conditions.” (Coffman Commentary)
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2 And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
Depart and go up from here... unto the land ... "That is, towards it, or to the borders of it." (Adam Clarke's Commentary) "The people have broken the covenant which they promised to keep, (Exodus 24:3-7;) why linger longer at this mountain? Let them now proceed to the land which was promised unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and do the best they can under the curse of violated vows." (Whedon's Commentary on the Bible) The sense seems to be: see if you can secure it for yourselves.
You and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt... "God here seems to disown them, and calls them no more his people, because of their perfidiousness and idolatry.” (Benson Commentary)
A land flowing with milk and honey,.... "Abounding with all the necessaries and good things of life, a description of the land of Canaan frequently made, see Exodus 3:8," (Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible)
And I will send My Angel before you… Many commentators wishing to prove the severity of the situation, make this into a created being, but I am not so inclined. MY ANGEL- "Proof demonstrative that the christian fathers are all correct in declaring that the Angel of the covenant, in Exodus 3:2; Exodus 3:6; Genesis 48:16; and other places, was the Messiah, JEHOVAH, the Lord God of the fathers." (Sutcliffe) The fact that the Angel of the Covenant was going before them was a large part of the dread. "Thus were the people forcibly warned that His presence could prove a blessing to them only on condition of their keeping their part of the covenant (Exodus 33:3). If they failed in this, His presence would be to them 'a consuming fire' (Deuteronomy 4:24; compare Exodus 32:10).” (Barnes Notes)
"For I will not go up in the midst of thee — By my own special and gracious presence, as hitherto I have done, but I will depart from thee... Lest I consume thee in the way — Lest thy sins should be aggravated by my presence and favour, and thereby I should be provoked utterly to destroy thee. So God shows that their perverseness makes this severity necessary for them, and that he, even in his judgment, remembers mercy to them.” (Benson Commentary)
4 And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5 For Yahweh had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.’” 6 So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.
"Put off thine ornaments, that I may know what to do with thee.That is, put thyself into the posture of a penitent, that the dispute may be determined in thy favour, and mercy may rejoice against judgment. And Israel stript themselves of their ornaments,… as some read it, at a distance from the mount - Stand afar off, like the publican, Luke 18:13. God bid them lay aside their ornaments, and they did so; both to shew in general their deep mourning, and in particular to take a holy revenge upon themselves for giving their ear-rings to make the golden calf of.” (Wesley Notes) And this “added its weight to the fervency of Moses‘ prayers, and gave them prevalence with God in behalf of the people.”(Jameison-Faussett-Brown)
Exodus 33: The People Take An Interest on Moses' Meetings With Yahweh
7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought Yahweh went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. 9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and Yahweh talked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. 11 So Yahweh spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.
Moses took his tent…and called it the tabernacle (tent) of meeting... "The only word in the Old Testament which ought to be rendered ‘tabernacle' משׁכן mı̂shkān does not occur once in this narrative Exodus 26:1. What is here meant is a tent appointed for this temporary purpose by Moses, possibly that in which he was accustomed to dwell.” (Barnes' Notes)
"This whole paragraph deals with that period of rebellion on Israel's part, before the tabernacle was constructed, as indicated by the totally different situation. (1) No sacrifices were offered. (2) There was no High Priest, nor even any lesser priests. (3) This Tent was ‘without' (outside) the polluted camp of Israel, not in the midst of it.” (Coffman Commentary)
And pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp,… "to symbolize the removal of God's presence from the people's midst.” (Constable) And called it the tent of meeting— "the tent where Jehovah used to ‘meet’ Moses, and communicate to him His will.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)
"By making the place of worship outside the camp, Moses clearly drew a line to see who really wanted to draw close to the LORD.” (David Guzik) "When the Holy Spirit of God begins to deal with any one of us, there will be this separation. It will not be paraded, it will not be the Pharisees' 'I am holier than thou' attitude. No, once a man begins to be burdened for the glory of God and the state of the Church, he immediately feels the call to consecration, he 'goes out' as it were." (Lloyd-Jones)
And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. "Hereby, also, they showed their grief for God’s departure, their respect to Moses, whom they had lately slighted, their dependance on his mediation, and concern about the issue of it.” (Benson Commentary)
AND “It pleased God to approve these arrangements; and to show his approval by a visible token.” (Pulpit Commentary) And thus, all the people rose up and worshipped…"every man in his tent door; not Moses, nor the cloudy pillar, but the Lord in it; it was not a civil bow they made to Moses, and in respect to him, for he was gone into the tabernacle out of sight, but a religious adoration of the Lord in the pillar of cloud.” (Gill’s Exposition)
"Hereby they signified their humble adoration of the Divine Majesty; their thankfulness to God, that he was pleased to show them this token for good, for if he had been pleased to kill them, he would not have showed them such things as these; and their hearty concurrence with Moses, as their advocate, in every thing he should promise for them.” (Benson)
The Lord spake unto Moses face to face —
“He spake not as a prince to a subject, but as a man to his friend, whom he loves, and with whom he takes sweet counsel.” (Wesley Notes)
"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds…” (Hebrews 1:1-2)
“And Moses would return to the camp… "To tell the people what hopes he had of bringing this business to a good issue.” (Wesley) But Joshua did not leave the tent. Joshua was able to tarry, because he, "was the ONLY ONE in Israel who had not danced around the golden calf.” (Coffman)
"We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Hebrews 13:10-16)
Morning Repost: Exodus 33: The Promise of God’s Presence Renewed
12 Then Moses said to Yahweh, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.
"'The tempo of intercession is increased here. Moses had asked, and now he is seeking (Exod 33:13), then knocking (Exo 33:15,18).’ (Howell Jones) Jesus himself commanded us to 'Ask… seek… knock..' (Matt 7:7,8)" (Coffman) Yahweh: "Thou hast distinguished me with thy favour - Consider that this nation is thy people, and extend thy favour to them. At any rate shew me thy way - tell me plainly what thou wilt do." (Pulpit Commentary)
"You say to me, 'Bring up this people.' But You have not let me know whom You will send with me.” Moses and THIS PEOPLE are on the edge of Canaan; and he knows himself to be a friend of God. Yet he does not know what will happen to the congregation in the wilderness. All are at risk.
"Moses finds the promises of Exodus 32:34; Exodus 33:2 ambiguous. What is meant by ‘mine angel' and 'an angel?' Is it the ‘Angel' of Exodus 23:20-23, or no? If not, who is it?” (Ellicott) Many angels (maliks or messengers) in the Bible are human beings. They "can refer to 'a human messenger' (cf. John the Baptist, Mt 11:10, quoting Mal 3:1; see also Lk 7:24, 9:52)….. but it refers to heavenly angels over 150 times in the NT, i.e. spiritual beings created by God to serve His plan.” (HELPS Word-studies)
“Some have entertained angels unawares." (Hebrews 13:2).
“But" even more marvelous: “attentive Old Testament readers will have encountered a unique and startling double identification. In some passages we meet with a party called 'the angel of the LORD' who is also revealed to be the LORD. In His voice there is none of the prophet's 'Thus saith the Lord,' no indication that He is speaking for another, not Himself. When He speaks, God speaks." (David K Bernard)
Who is going to lead? Is it Joshua or some other created being only!?
"Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’... " "It is a high honour to be called of God by name. He thus calls only those whom He appoints to some great work, as Moses (Exod 3:4; 33:12), Samuel (1Sam 3:10), and Cyrus (Isa 45:3-4)....
God 'knows by name' only those whom He greatly regards...” (Ellicott) To every true believer, Jesus says: "But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;" (Isaiah 43:1-3)
YAHWEH ANSWERS:
"My presence shall go with thee…""Orlinsky noted that the import of this is, 'My Divine Presence (the [~shekinah]) will go, namely, I will not send again any angel [a created being]; I Myself will go.” (Coffman Commentary)
"... AND I will give you rest."
"When God rested from the work of creation, as we read, did it mean inactivity, or did it mean a passing on to further and still greater work? Our Lord has answered that question for us, ‘My Father worketh hitherto and I work’—work, progress in work, change in work. In active loving service there is rest for the spirit of man. There stands before us the Central Figure in the history of the world, and from His lips is coming the precious promise, ‘Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,’ and He goes on to tell us still, ‘Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’ To take the yoke, the daily burden under the guiding hand of God, to do the Lord’s work that He sets for you and me to-day, to live the life of God by the power that God can give us—thus may we find rest unto our souls. In doing the will of God alone is there rest for the soul of man. We look into the Garden of Gethsemane and we see the Lord battling there with all the evil weight of temptation, and we see at last the human will bending to the will of God the Father; then it is that the rest begins and the agony is over, ‘Nevertheless not My will but Thine be done.’” (Bishop E. R. Wilberforce)
"If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here…" In this, MOSES declared that the wilderness of Sinai with God was far better than the (temporal) promised land could ever be without God! So it is with all the beautiful and desirable things on earth. To possess or win them without God is far worse than doing without them. As Unger put it, 'Sinai at its worst with God was better than Canaan at its best without God.’...” (Coffman Commentary)
16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
"By having this Divine protection we shall be saved from idolatry, and be preserved in thy truth and in the true worshipping of thee; and thus shall we be separated from all the people that are upon the face of the earth: as all the nations of the world, the Jews only excepted, were at this time idolaters.” (Adam Clarke Commentary)
Exodus 33: Moses Desires to See the Father
18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” 19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
Moses had been in the tent of meeting with Yahweh making intercession for the children of Israel, but as of yet, he had not seen His glory. There is no other explanation in my eyes except that that blessed intercession had been made before the Person of Messiah. "The faithful servant of Yahweh, now assured by the success of his mediation, yearns, with the proper tendency of a devout spirit, for a more intimate communion with his divine Master than he had yet enjoyed...” (Barnes' Notes)
“'Shew me,' he said, 'I beseech thee, thy glory.' All that he had yet seen of God was insufficient—only raised his desire, only sharpened his appetite to see more. He craved for that 'beatific vision' which is the final reward of them that are perfected in another world. God could not grant his request in full, for it is impossible so long as we are in the flesh that we should look on God and live. 'No man hath seen God at any time' (John 1:18). But He granted all that could be granted. He made 'all his goodness pass before' Moses; He gave him a fresh revelation of His name (Exodus 34:6-7); and He even let him see some actual portion of His ‘glory'—as much as mortal man could possibly behold—more than any son of man had ever beheld before—more, probably, than any other son of man will ever behold until the consummation of all things (Exodus 33:22-23).” (Ellicott's Commentary)
I will make all My goodness pass before you... Yahweh "had given him wonderful instances of his goodness in being reconciled to Israel; but that was only goodness in the stream, he would shew him goodness in the spring. This was a sufficient answer to his request: Shew me thy glory, saith Moses; I will shew thee my goodness, saith God. God's goodness is his glory; and he will have us to know him by the glory of his mercy, more than by the glory of his majesty.” (Wesley)
"'I will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee ...' Esses, a former Jewish rabbi, now a believer, has an interesting comment on this: 'The name that God is going to proclaim is JESUS...” (Coffman) This was the name proclaimed to Moses of which Jacob sought a knowledge of after wrestling with this Angel in Genesis 32:29— "Jacob said, 'Please tell me your name.’ But he replied, 'Why do you ask my name?' Then he blessed him there."
I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. In these last days, it so pleases Yahweh to be most gracious and compassionate to those who seek Him through the mediation of His Son. "Man is mean, and unworthy of it; weak, and could not bear it; guilty, and could not but dread it. The merciful display which is made in Christ Jesus, alone can be borne by us.” (Matthew Henry)
The Son is "..the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person..."(Hebrews 1:3) "Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.’ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.’" (John 14:8-11)